Storebro 15 x 36 Lathe (I think)

Hawkeye

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My name is Mike and I'm a toolaholic ...

I made an offer today on a very interesting Swedish lathe. It has no label other than the settings for the QCGB, and those are in Swedish. The closest thing I can find on Tony Griffith's site is a GK-185, by Storebro Bruks Aktiebolag. (Spellchecker didn't like that at all.) The 185 is a gear-head with a bigger motor, but the bed casting, tailstock and apron layout are the same.

www.lathes.co.uk/ornmaskiner/

The machine is mounted on a factory-built wooden cabinet - actually a steel structure filled in with wood. The story is that there was a warehouse full of war-surplus machinery in Sweden and the original owner (who passed away a couple of years ago) brought one over from there. The tailstock is MT3 and extends over 5". The bed is around 11" wide.
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The apron layout is backwards to what most of us are used to. The clutch knob on the apron face engages movement along the bed, as does the half-nut lever. The lead screw is actually 4 tpi, even though the threading chart is strictly metric. The little black knurled knob on the centre of the crossfeed shaft is the clutch for the power crossfeed.
PB291070a.jpg

The 2 HP motor is mounted inside the cabinet, belted to a three-speed gearbox. The white shift knob at the bottom of the picture selects L, H, or M. Two belts carry powerpower to the spindle sleeve. The back gears are in good shape, although the handle apparently broke somewhere along the line and was replaced by a section of threaded rod. First project if it takes up residence in my shop. I think the spindle is MT4, with about a 2 1/4" thread.
PB291068a.jpg

The lathe comes with a lot of tooling in HSS and carbide, plus an 8" three-jaw, a 10" four-jaw, a 10" faceplate and a dog driver plate. Some pieces, the current owner, who isn't a machinist, is throwing in just because he will never use them. If he counters with a higher price, there is a two-tumbler micrometer that I'll ask for, just because it's cool.
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Anybody read Swedish? I'm thinking it will take at least a day of trial cuts to find out all the threads I can cut with this lathe. For machining purposes, it will feed a lot slower than my Hercus, so I would expect a mirror finish.
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Just waiting to hear back from him on my offer. He did say that he likes the idea of it going to someone who will appreciate it.

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The top chart is the metric thread pitches that it is capable of. The bottom appears to be the imperial thread chart, but I am not sure how to employ the info to get the desired result. A local College may have a number of Swedes who could translate it for you too. I live at the University of Fla in Gainesville so I can get just about anything translated pretty easily if the need ever arises. It looks pretty good and I like the power cross feed too. Let us know if it finds a home at your place and how the charts all work out.

Bob
 
Mike,

I know nothing about the lathe, but from the pictures it looks to be very well built and in good shape.

I bet it runs like a Swiss.........lathe. Good luck with your offer.

Steve
 
Cool lathe in what appears to be great shape. Hope it ends up in your shop! Oh, and I'm pretty sure there are some Swedish folks on here from time to time to help with the translation.
 
I was thinking that the top chart was for threads, while the bottom one was for machining feeds per spindle revolution. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to find out. DROs will be a necessity, since the feed dials are in metric.

If it comes home, the work bench in the middle of the shop will have to pay the ultimate price. It just tends to collect junk anyway. Tables and benches should have motors and timers, so they can dump anything we leave on them at midnight. :lmao:
 
Christmas came early! The seller called up and asked if I wanted to drop over. His buddy had told him that the lathe should sell for $4 - 5000. He upped my offer to $3200, plus I help him wire in a new panel in the spring. I countered with the two-barreled mic. Done deal.

I hauled all the loose bits home. Check out my kitchen floor. I may start to gloat a little bit.
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The usual suspects include steady rest and follow rest, 10" four-jaw and 10" faceplate, and the dog driver plate. There are a couple of tins of HSS cutters, some new, some ground to all sorts of useful profiles. Some blanks are 7/8'. Boring bars and adjustable reamers.
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There is a full set of MT3 collets. Only a couple of them show any sign of ever being used. A brand new pair of 1-2-3 blocks, and a micrometer set that will measure up to 5", in 1" steps.
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The seller threw in any items he didn't think he'd ever use. Brass oilers are always a good find.
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The lead screw is adjusted through a combination of change gears and QCGB. He found the gears at the back of a drawer. All but one were in unopened bags. There are at least 10 drill chucks of various sizes.
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Test instruments include what I assume to be a bore gauge, a set of telescoping gauges, and the unique two barreled mic.
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It may be a couple of weeks before I can get the lathe home. The seller has to go to Wisconsin on Thursday. I'd prefer to move the machine in daylight, but we might push things up one way or another.

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Wow, what a haul!!!

This qualifies you for the monthly Hoover award!
 
That's a real neat looking lathe, Mike. I really like the way that the tailstock locks and unlocks with a simple lever at the rear.... never in the way... Nice pile of goodies that came with it. I'm sure that it will be a stout lathe and looks to be in good condition.

Best regards... :)

Brian
 
Thanks, guys. I decided to take a vacation day tomorrow to bring the lathe home. Hope I can sleep tonight.
 
Very Nice ...lots of goodies , but there never seems to be enough......lol good score
 
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